Lady in the Water
Time is running out for a happy ending.
Apartment superintendent Giamatti finds out that a woman (Howard) lives beneath the complex’s swimming pool; she turns out not to be human, but a narf, and she’s in danger. Director Shyamalan’s bedtime story has a terrific score, a good performance from the star and a hilarious one from Mr. Balaban as a deadpan movie critic. The rest of the movie is a laughable fairy tale involving creatures called “scrunt” and “tartutic” (don’t ask).
2006-U.S. 110 min. Color. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Music: James Newton Howard. Cast: Paul Giamatti (Cleveland Heep), Bryce Dallas Howard (Story), Jeffrey Wright (Dury), Bob Balaban, Sarita Choudhury, Cindy Cheung… M. Night Shyamalan, Mary Beth Hurt.
Trivia: Kevin Costner was allegedly considered for the part of Cleveland.
Razzie: Worst Director, Supporting Actor (Shyamalan).
Quote: “A dog inside the building! Go! Shoo! Why you’re not a dog at all. My god, this is like a moment from a horror movie. This is precisely the moment where the mutation or beast will attempt to kill an unlikable side character. But, in stories where there has been no prior cursing, violence, nudity or death, such as in a family film, the unlikable character will escape his encounter, and be referenced later in the story, having learned valuable lessons. He may even be given a humorous moment to allow the audience to feel good about him. This is where I turn to run. You will leap for me, I will shut the door, and you will land a fraction of a second too late.” (Mr. Balaban, prior to being killed by the beast)
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